Saudi Gazette report

MOSCOW — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, arrived in Moscow on Thursday to attend the opening of World Cup 2018. This was in response to an invitation from President Vladimir Putin and as per the directive of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Crown Prince is set to attend the opening ceremony and the match between Saudi Arabia and Russia, which will take place at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday. The Crown Prince will also meet with Putin during his visit.

On his arrival at Moscow International Airport, the Crown Prince signed an autograph on a football given by the World Cup Mascot. Saudi Arabia and Russia are in Group A, which also includes the national teams of Egypt and Uruguay.

Crown Prince Muhammad, meanwhile, told Putin that cooperation between their two countries “benefits the whole world”.

He made this comment soon after his arrival in Moscow on Thursday as one of many world leaders visiting Russia for the football World Cup.

Putin and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak were scheduled to meet with the Crown Prince and Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih during the day, Al Arabiya reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has previously said that the two delegations would discuss an agreement on cutting global oil production, which Saudi Arabia and Russia are leading, but did not plan to discuss an exit from the deal.